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scalawag - 4 dictionary results
scal⋅a⋅wag
[skal-uh-wag] 
–noun
| 1. | a scamp; rascal. |
| 2. | U.S. History. a native white Southerner who collaborated with the occupying forces during Reconstruction, often for personal gain. |
Origin:
1840–50, Americanism; orig. uncert.
1840–50, Americanism; orig. uncert.
Related forms:
scal⋅a⋅wag⋅ger⋅y, noun
scal⋅a⋅wag⋅gy, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To scalawag
| scal·a·wag (skāl'ə-wāg') n.
[Origin unknown.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Scalawag
Scal"a*wag\, n. A scamp; a scapegrace. [Spelt also scallawag.] [Slang, U.S.] --Bartlett.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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scalawag
"disreputable fellow," 1848, Amer.Eng., originally in trade union jargon, of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Scottish scallag "farm servant, rustic" (by influence of wag "habitual joker"). An early recorded sense was "undersized or worthless animal" (1854), which suggests an alteration of Scalloway, one of the Shetland Islands, in allusion to little Shetland ponies. In U.S. history, used from 1862 of anti-Confederate native white Southerners.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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